amplification refractory mutation system

abbr.: ARMS; a proprietary name for a method for detection of mutations caused by single nucleotide changes. A pair of oligonucleotide primers are designed in which the 3′ end of one is complementary to the normal nucleotide at the position of the mutation and the other upstream or downstream from it to give a PCR product of a known size when normal DNA is amplified. Another pair of primers are designed in which one primer is complementary to the mutant nucleotide at its 3′ end and the other is placed upstream or downstream to give a PCR product that differs in size from the normal product when the mutant allele is amplified. The mismatch at the 3′ end of the normal primer with the mutant sequence makes it refractory to amplification, and vice versa. By electrophoretic separation of products obtained with both primer pairs it is possible to ascertain whether the individual is homozygous normal, heterozygous, or homozygous for the mutant allele.

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